SES ASTRA, an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), will launch
its new digital platform entavio at the international consumer show
IFA in Berlin on 1st September. The service to digital satellite
households in Germany comprises about 500 digital TV and radio
channels, which continue to be distributed for free, and the technical
access to pay-TV for a monthly flat rate of Euro 1.99. The first
pay-TV operator to offer its packages via entavio is Premiere,
including its new Premiere program Premiere Star. Further operators
will follow. entavio compatible receivers by various manufacturers
will be available for households beginning in September. The smart
cards required for accessing pay-TV will be offered and distributed by
the entavio company.
As a neutral platform, entavio offers satellite households a large
range of current and future digital free and pay-TV programs through a
single receiver. Furthermore, TV viewers will benefit from additional
features and service functions such as the interactive mobile phone
service Blucom. In pay-TV, entavio will start to market the whole
satellite offer of Premiere on 1st September, with the access to the
Premiere Flex offer already included in the monthly entavio flat rate
of Euro 1.99.
entavio is a technical and service platform which does not itself
acquire or bundle programs and is therefore open to all broadcasters.
Manufacturers of satellite receivers are able to launch compatible
devices with the entavio label besides the manufacturer's brand. The
entavio company, based in Unterfoehring near Munich, is a fully-owned
subsidiary of SES ASTRA.
"entavio is the beginning of a new generation of digital satellite
television", says Wilfried Urner, CEO of entavio. "entavio provides a
very large program choice, interactive applications, an easy access to
pay-TV as well as an excellent customer service. With entavio, we have
developed a concept that will be able to reflect all future
technological innovations. Therefore entavio is one of the most
attractive forms of digital TV access and certainly the best solution
for receiving digital satellite television."
"The launch of entavio further simplifies the reception of
Premiere via satellite," says Michael Boernicke, CEO of Premiere.
"Premiere's programs will be an important driving force for entavio.
With entavio, Premiere can further increase its reach and benefit from
its partners' marketing initiatives. Furthermore, the launch allows us
to outsource technical services and further focus on our competence as
a content and program provider."
The entavio launch press conference on 29 August at 2.30 p.m. CET
will be broadcast on Internet on the entavio website
www.entavio.de/presse as well as on the IFA website www.ifa-tv.de. The
presentation of the press conference will be available on the entavio
website. The ASTRA booth at the IFA is in Hall 26.
About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in
Europe, delivering services to more than 109 million DTH and cable
households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13
satellites, transmitting 1,864 analogue and digital television and
radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia,
internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments
and their agencies. With 26 High Definition (HD) channels available
via its satellites today, ASTRA is also the most important HDTV
broadcasting platform in Europe. ASTRA's prime orbital positions are
19.2 degree East, 28.2 degree East, and 23.5 degree East.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG). SES owns
three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES
AMERICOM in North America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provide global
coverage and connectivity. The Company also holds strategic
participations in SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in
Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions
via a fleet of 37 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe.
Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com
